


Dragon's Heart

by I_Gave_You_Fair_Warning



Series: Adopted Prompts [21]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: BAMF Obi-Wan Kenobi, Bittersweet Ending, Dragon Obi-Wan, Fate, Gen, emotional distress
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-11-05 17:28:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17923205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Gave_You_Fair_Warning/pseuds/I_Gave_You_Fair_Warning
Summary: Obi-Wan has never shifted into his dragon form, and won't until the person he was created for is in danger. It's not easy to accept that his life is not his own, that he was created for someone else, to protect and serve someone Actually Important.





	Dragon's Heart

**Author's Note:**

> [Moddy on tumblr](http://swpromptsandasks.tumblr.com/) released this prompt in a Prompt Run to find another home.
> 
> Original Prompt: Obi-Wan never transformed before he met Anakin. Now he transforms to protect his pack mate/cub/kit/dragonling/future mate. (Just some form of Obikin) 
> 
> Content Non-Warning: The major character death warning is for Qui-Gon dying on Naboo, offscreen.
> 
> Prompt Deviation: So... the Obikin didn't happen. This Anakin has some decidedly romantic feelings towards someone he did not realize was Obi-Wan, but it's not reciprocated. You could headcanon it goes there later, or that it does not, either way. I have a hunch it turns into a queerplatonic life partnership, but I've been wrong about trajectories of "finished" stories before.
> 
> Content Warning: Obi-Wan as a dragon gets stabbed in the side. It's not tremendously graphic, but I don't veer away from it either. He'll recover. Obi-Wan dragon-kills monsters in the Arena from Ep II, so if you're really attached to the Reek & Acklay & Nexu...
> 
> ...Then be warned?

 

 

There was something different about Obi-Wan Kenobi's eyes.

Qui-Gon came from a long lineage of individuals who could see it, unlike the vast majority of beings.

The way when if under duress, Obi-Wan's pupils elongated, becoming vertical slits before flickering back to a round, human shape.

In times long past, Jinns had hunted Obi-Wan's kind, running them to near extinction. These days, though, most of the line were either born without the ability to see them, or they had it and simply never encountered a dragon in their lifetimes.

Qui-Gon had been raised in the Temple, away from the prejudices of his family's tribe, so while he understood the significance, and while at first he had been hesitant— very hesitant— to take this particular youngling as his padawan, he had finally recognized that despite the weight of cultural past, there was a child in need.

And Qui-Gon Jinn could not turn away from one of those.

They had never actually spoken about it, but Qui-Gon had been notified by Obi-Wan's mind tender when Obi-Wan had been introduced to his heritage and its significance, and Qui-Gon could see the difference in Obi-Wan.

The sixteen-year-old had been a bit jumpy until he reassured himself that Qui-Gon wasn't just going to murder him in his sleep. Qui-Gon had tried to keep from any startling moves, and had attempted to reassure him through the Force and with what verbal affirmation Obi-Wan would accept.

It evened out, and Obi-Wan seemed to continue on, life as normal.

The thing was...

Dragons were never born simply for themselves. Out there, somewhere, there was a person Obi-Wan Kenobi was meant for. The Force itself had created him solely for that purpose.

The exact purpose varied from dragon to dragon, so they had no way of knowing if Obi-Wan's person was meant to be a lover, a child-figure, a friend, or simply a Very Important Mission where they would only know one another for a short time before...

Before something happened to one or the other.

Probably to the dragon.

Obi-Wan Kenobi had a determination to take fate into his own hands, thank the Force very much, and he very nearly left the Order to try to form a life with Satine Kryze, a young woman he'd fallen madly in love with.

Qui-Gon had done nothing to get in the middle of that; it wasn't Qui-Gon, after all, who would have to live with the life that would result either way. And though Obi-Wan was not yet a knight, by that time he _was_ an adult, so he had to start making the big decisions for himself.

Obi-Wan spent a night in vigil with the Force, and while Qui-Gon could sense something tremendous happening between the Force and its dragon, he couldn't have told what it might be.

All he knew was that his padawan had emerged the following morning with reddened eyes, swollen nose, tear tracks down his face, his voice hoarse... and grim. Very grim.

When Qui-Gon left Mandalore, Obi-Wan went with him.

Eventually, Qui-Gon stopped expecting the bubbly, mischievous Obi-Wan to return. In its place, a man who often kept silence, who looked grim most of the time, and whose humor rarely appeared for more than a sly quip.

Qui-Gon feared the Force had not been kind with its dragon, and that Obi-Wan would bear the scars of railing against its will for a long time.

When Obi-Wan met Anakin Skywalker, crouched on the floor of a fugitive Naboo ship, Qui-Gon saw it. The way Obi-Wan's nostrils flared, the narrowing of his pupils, and a tingling crawl down Qui-Gon's spine.

Despite that, Qui-Gon didn't think the Force Chosen and his dragon recognized it.

Perhaps Obi-Wan had given up seeking happiness, since the Force had stomped on him so severely last time. Qui-Gon often felt like Obi-Wan had slipped into a sort of holding pattern, waiting to live and not fully investing in anything too deeply, except in perfecting his own skills.

As if afraid of the moment when the Force would beckon, and he'd be forced to leave behind everything but what he had within himself.

 

* * *

 

Qui-Gon never got to see the moment when Obi-Wan realized it.

No. The dragon and Force Chosen had fumbled through ten years of being master and padawan before either of them realized something was at all strange.

The heat in the Geonosis arena was oppressive, making the metal chains around wrists feel almost like they might leave burns behind.

The Senator had reached the top of her pillar, out of reach of the nexu, and Obi-Wan had sidestepped the acklay, but Anakin's attempted leap out of the way of the reek just wasn't going to make it.

He recognized it at the last second, the padawan's eyes going wide with terror, expecting to be gored.

A roar exploded from the left, and Anakin tried to look, only to see something spatter across the monster's side, hissing and eating away—

The reek swerved to the side, shrieking in pain, and Anakin scrambled backwards until his back hit his pillar. He spun his head around, expecting to find the arachno-crustacoid spewing acid.

Instead, there was a fourth creature in here with them.

Anakin felt all hope vanish as he stared up at the white-scaled beast. Tatooine had legends of the dragons in the suns, the creatures that devoured always, always—

The thing had thin, vertical pupils set in blue eyes, and its wings were folded in against its back as it tore with teeth and claws into the acklay.

Where was Obi-Wan? Anakin couldn't see him anywhere. Oh, Force, please—

A cry from Padmé jolted Anakin from his terrified cowering. Strangely, it caught the dragon's attention as well. The head snapped around, and breathed a blast of acid into the feline's back. Part of the pillar corroded as well, and Anakin saw Padmé go very still, eyes wide with the belief of immanent death.

The flailing and wounded acklay sent a stabbing foot into the dragon's side. Confusion filled the blue eyes, the face having so much expression—

It fell, and the ground shook just a bit beneath Anakin's feet. Not from the physical weight, but from something far more visceral.

For a reason Anakin could not pinpoint, the monster's wounding filled Anakin with alarm and the need to protect it. He looked up, found his chain had been partially eroded by acid. He braced himself and yanked, then yanked again, putting as much of the Force into it as he could. The weakened link broke, and after catching Padmé with the Force as she fell, Anakin raced for the dragon.

It was shrinking, in a heartbeat the dragon wasn't there, but Obi-Wan was, curled up on his side, blood seeping his tunics.

Anakin had no time to process. Instead, he ran screaming at the acklay, knowing he had no weapons, nothing to kill it with, and hoping the chaos alone would be enough to send the injured creature into a retreat.

It worked.

Anakin gave no further thought to the thing huddling in on itself and skittering backwards as he crashed to his knees by his master's side.

Stop the bleeding.

Obi-Wan looked up, so much confusion on his face, and his eyes—

His eyes were still weird.

 

* * *

 

If the Jedi hadn't arrived, if Yoda hadn't brought the clones, they would have died on that miserable planet.

Instead, Anakin sat beside Obi-Wan in the Halls of Healing, waiting for him to wake up.

Apparently the battle had raged even after Obi-Wan had been med-evac'd, Anakin never once leaving his side. Yoda had faced down Dooku, and the man was in Jedi custody somewhere deep in the Temple now.

Anakin held one of the limp, cold hands and rubbed his thumb over Obi-Wan's knuckles.

For as long as he could remember, he'd had dreams of a blue-eyed, white dragon. A guardian. Someone who was there. And through his uncomfortable teenage years, he'd occasionally had very odd feelings about that dragon that had made him seriously worried about his own decency as a human being.

Kissing Padmé had been something he wanted so badly, and had seemed so much more normal than... well... craving an animal, so he'd gone for it. And it had been great— until he saw blue eyes in his mind, sad and hurt.

He'd startled away from Padmé, and though she had said it was fine, he could tell it had left a lasting impression.

_It's you. The dragon is you._

Well, at least Anakin didn't have to fear his sexual tastes anymore. Unless... desiring someone sixteen years his senior and who was also his teacher might not be healthy. He worried about that for all of three minutes until he realized it was far more socially acceptable than the dragon thing. So. A win.

When Obi-Wan finally opened his eyes, they were back to usual, and his weary smile upon seeing Anakin lasted a moment before shifting to confusion again, then shame, then anger, then frustration. He tried to roll over, to put his back to Anakin, but the tubes in his arm wouldn't let him and he keened in pain.

“Hey, easy!” Anakin barked, lunging up and placing a hand on his shoulder. “Your side is somewhat put back together, but it's not ready for that kind of thing yet! You don't want to undo all the work that was put in to make all your insides play nice again!”

Obi-Wan sent another guilty glance in Anakin's direction.

“So, you turn into a really powerful, sexy dragon. That's pretty neat.”

The look of incredulity almost dragged a giggle out of Anakin. Oh, Force, maybe they'd be okay after all— that curled lip and nose scrunch thing was his crabby master through and through.

“So... how come I saw you in my dreams long before I met you? Or, at least, dragon you?”

That angry, disgusted look returned. “Because I was made for you,” Obi-Wan growled. “Because the Force deemed it acceptable to give you two lives, and is poised to destroy anyone I love if I try to make a life for myself. I am simply here to make your life better.”

“What?” Anakin wavered, his stomach turning over.

“I'm a dragon, Anakin. A dragon gets assigned to a person, and that person they live for. They don't get to have a life apart from that.”

Anakin's knees gave out and dropped him back into the chair. “I... that's awful.”

Obi-Wan simply closed his eyes and turned his head away.

For a moment, Anakin could see Obi-Wan's self in the Force, hissing at a cage it had long ago beat itself bloody against, trying to get out. Anakin felt whispers of heartbreak and helplessness just how un-fripping-fair...

Anakin's eyes misted over.

 _He's a slave_ , Anakin realized, his own heart breaking. _My slave._ A ragged sniff-sob escaped him, which launched Obi-Wan's eyelids open again as the older Jedi looked to him in dismay.

“I'm sorry,” Anakin whispered. “I didn't know.”  
“Neither did I, until... well... I transformed to keep you safe. I've never done that before, and it wasn't something I could have stopped. It just... was.”

Anakin squeezed his hands together in his lap. “Can I— can I release you, or something? Tell the Force I just refuse, that you're not acceptable, anything so it will free you?”

“That I—” Obi-Wan gaped at him, hurt crossing his face. “It would be truth, wouldn't it,” he mumbled.

“It's just that I don't want a slave, I can't, I _can't_ keep you chained to me like that, and you've been looking forward to my knighthood so you could have some space and a break, and some time to yourself, only you won't _get_ it now, _ever_ and it's just not right— what did you say?”

Obi-Wan's gaze shifted away and he sighed. “I've been a terrible master, Anakin. So telling the Force I'm not acceptable would be the truth.”

“N-no.” Anakin stared at him, horrified. “That is _not_ true. Force, Obi-Wan, you _believe_ that?”

“Well, you've certainly told me enough,” Obi-Wan returned, tone dry, but Anakin could feel the long aching of hurt underneath it.

_Oh, Force—_

He  _had._

A... lot.

“I was angry. I never really meant any of it, deep down. I just... I wanted someone to be angry at that wasn't myself, you know?”

Obi-Wan gave him an uncomprehending look.

_Because he_ doesn't  _know. His brain manages to find ways to make everything, even things barely related to him,_ his  _fault._

_He doesn't spend time finding ways it's others' fault._

Great. Another way Obi-Wan was the exact opposite of Anakin.

Anakin lifted Obi-Wan's hand in his, careful not to disturb the tubes. “If after I'm knighted you never want to see me again, I'd get it. I would hate me too.”

“I don't hate you, Anakin.” Obi-Wan's shoulders slumped and he managed a grimace. “I'm embarrassed. I have always found the idea of my lack of autonomy humiliating. I just wanted to be  _me._ ”

Anakin nodded, holding the hand tight. “You  _know_ the nine-year-old kid that you fished an explosive chip out of understands that.”

Obi-Wan's expression softened, and he squeezed Anakin's hand in return.

“Yes,” Obi-Wan whispered. “Yes, he does.”

  


End file.
